I apologize for our neighbors to the South. They’re still a tad bit perturbed at not being part of the Netherlands;-) Glad to hear you’ve escaped the wrath of the Gendarme. Hopefully you had a good glass of Pils and some Frietjes.

Why don’t you come to Brussels instead? We’re a little bit more civilised further South.If crossing at red lights was penalised, I’d probably get death penalty. Please, try to love this country, it deserves it. Despite policemen.

I doubt anything exciting ever happens in Belgium … The cop was probably just trying to fill his day … the same thing happens in Greenwich, CT … the warden / traffic ppl shout at you if you cross without them telling you to!

Sorry to hear about your brush with the law for something so trivial. However, I must point out that what people do in New York is irrelevant. You weren’t in New York–you were in Antwerp! It pays, I think, to respect the traditions, customs, and laws of the country you’re visiting. Americans, especially, need to heed this message. Not only is it good manners, but it can help you avoid having involuntary personal interaction with law enforcement.

If it happens in LA you can actually get fined, I have friends who when visiting LA from SF got tickets for jay walking. Here in san francisco I have never heard of a cop taking the law so seriously, neither in England from whence I came.

We had someone on our trip to Belarus who got stopped for the same thing. Only, Belarus is a bigger deal than Antwerp. We found the phrase in our phrasebook: “Is there a fine we can pay to make this go away?”

You should count yourself lucky. There was a story in the news a couple of weeks ago about a history professor from Britain who was attending a conference in Atlanta. An off-duty cop who was moonlighting as a security guard saw him crossing the street and decided to take him down. The cop kicked the unlucky prof’s legs from under him and pinned him to the ground until backup arrive. The prof then spend 8 hours in jail until a judge let him out.

Unfortunately I know this story all too well. I am from Boston (where jay-walkers can be found at every street corner), however I recently returned from two-year long stint in Germany. This law is also enforced in Deutschland. Inpatients often prevailed over maintaining my reputation as a law abiding citizen…I just made sure the Polizei were not lurking around and, naturlich, that there were no young German children nearby to corrupt(otherwise I would be sure to get a tongue lashing from a local).

If I could take a train ride from NY to Antwerp I would’ve moved there. A pictorial of jail wear may be interesting but I really enjoy checking out what people are wearing in NY and other travels. I’m in design school in LA now, still dreaming of NY and Europe. Thanks for the great photos and for the great advices last year.

Damn-this is is hilarious as it’s embarassing!I can’t believe this-I’ve been living in Antwerp for more than 10 years, and this has never happened to me nor anyone else I know of! And then to you of all people as a one time visitor ; )never mind, I’m glad you finally made it to Antwerp. Hope you’ ll forget about the dumb cop with too much time on his hands once you’ve been around the Nationalestraat and Lombardenvest!

Be sure to watch for any officers before you go against the light while in San Francisco (or Palo Alto). Although a lot of folks walk against the light the officers may stop you and give a citation because there are many pedestrian fatalities in SF and there’s increased enforcement whenever there’s a bunch of accidents.

BTW I just picked up my Charvet shirts that were ordered made-to-measure after the event. They were ready back in December but I didn’t have a chance to get back to the store. I had the left sleeve cuff made wider to accommodate my watch at no extra charge. (I was the guy that stopped to chat with you on the street after the event.)

Cheers and congrats on all the well-deserved success! Love the video interviews. I’m in love with Jordyn Bell – she’s so refreshing, sweet, charming and smart!

well, i lived in antwerp for a while, and i didn’t particularly like it. so, really, i don’t want to defend the city, but never did anything alike happen to me there, and i’m a regular jaywalker…. i don’t have an idea what the cop’s problem was! maybe he recognized you as the “bad bad sartorialist who suggests that men should wear leggings”… ohoh, shocking!

btw: your blog is getting better every day. loving it. thank you!

all the best from berlin, where you can happily jaywalk your way around town…

Dont be a hater man, that smug attitude just looks so bad. There are dumb cops in every nation.

I mean I’ve had the bizarre experience of seeing sometimes two arrests on the streets every weekend I have been in Holland, in Amsterdamn, Eindhoven and Utrecht! I don’t know but I come from from South Africa and NEVER saw that happen.

I am really sorry for what happen to you. I am not Belgium but I live in BXL and I cross the streets with the red lights too and so far, may be I was lucky, no weirdo stop me. Don’t take it personal … may be the guy was in a bad day!!! Once more I congratulate you for your fantastic blog! I love it.

the cops in antwerp really have nothing better to do and they are on a huge ego trip. also if you ride a bike without working lights the bike patrol hunts you down and acts the same way. just kill them with kindness! and as a new yorker living in antwerp now, take me back with you!!!

oh my, who would have thought that such passionate chocolate and fashion lovers (well, and let’s not forget the beer and french fries!) would be so stern about traffic. lol. he sure must be eating too little of all the good stuff, you know

I can’t believe you were so close to Brussels…If I have known before I would have run through the streets of Antwerp to find you ;-)I also would like to apologize for our flemish compatriots who are very sensitive about everyone who isn’t from their community…Very sad…Keep up the amazing work !Regards,Amélie from Brussels

He was probably ticked off that you were so smartly dressed and he was in a dorky uniform.

I saw a cop go ballistic in Los Angeles on a man who jaywalked. The guy was with his family, site-seeing on Hollywood Boulevard and was engrossed in something and crossed the street without looking at the light. The cop jumped out of the car and had his hand on his gun! Thank God there were lots of onlookers to see this nonsense.

Unfortunately, the Belgian police is not that easy. I adore Belgium but it is a bit of a police state. However, Antwerp is a real good place to photograph people as the fashion is definitely a lot like the Belgian designers. Also the food should be good. Have eel in green and frites (French fries).

oh, well mr «I’m a New Yorker», go figure. it’s not just NYPD cops who get to behave like arrogant pricks you know. and it’s not like being from NYC gives you any kind of special entitlement, or anything. take it easy

i got a ticket for crossing against the red, in a crosswalk, in california! it cost $76US! it was about 9pm on a wednesday night, a very quiet evening, and the cop tried to tell me it was going to go on my driving record as “running a red light” since i didn’t only jay-walk, i crossed in the crosswalk while the light was red. i went to the law library and argued that charge, but i still had to pay $76. ridiculous!

oh this is so funny because i am an american, new yorker, just in antwerp for work as well (fashion-related) ANYWAY, i did the same thing as you on several occasions thinking that EVERYONE ELSE must have been either crazy or insane NOT to cross the street because, while there were red light “don’t walk” signs, there was NO traffic in sight! it wasn’t even like i had to rush across the street in order to not get hit–i could have tiptoed and still made it in time. it was surreal to me how everyone just stands there and waits and waits and waits until the change of light. almost scary!

When in Rome. . . . . Jaywalking is frowned on in Tokyo too–so don’t do it. If one comes to New York from Amsterdam and lights up a joint in a coffee shop, should he expect to be subject to the laws of New York or those of Amsterdam? If a French woman comes to L.A. and lights her cigarette in a bar is it ok because she’s from France? I agree that your story is amusing, but don’t cast the police officer as a villainous buffoon–his city, their laws….

I just want to make clear that I’m not making fun of the policeman for doing his job.

I think it is great that people here obey the laws.

What I thought was funny was how upset he was about the whole thing. He was soooo pissed.

Everyone here has been very nice and i can’t wait to come back

psThe men’s shows in paris don’t start until the 25th or 26th so I am not missing anything except Couture which is not so big especially considering I will be back soon for women’s RTW

Thank you all for your responsesIt gets kinda lone traveling for so long by myself but I never feel completely alone because i feel like i am taking you with me on these journey’s and you guys are great travel companions!

hm, although i have been guilty of the same crime numerous times and i am far from a goody two shoes i now look at it in a different light. now that my son is almost 4 and becoming very aware of traffic i get annoyed with people jaywalking while i’m standing there trying to teach him that he should wait until the “man turns green”….so now i try not to do it when i see other parents waiting at lights with their own kids.

I hate to beat a dead horse but why would you (or a foreign visitor) need to carry a passport around? I don’t get it? Would the Antwerp policeman really arrest you if you didn’t have your passport with you?

“told him I don’t know and that i came here on the train. “From New York by train?” he asked, “No from Paris” I said.I was trying really hard not to laugh out loud. ”

FUNNY! I would have laugh…and probably made things worse.

The guy was doing his job. Maybe mentioning your origin as excuse is not a good idea…Yeah! the political climate for Americans is pretty much of NO tolerance out of the country….I guess then is where international perception comes into play. The perception of USA nationals having privileges and being spoiled and unconscious, no mater weather this is a fact or not…so hopefully if people get more responsible with the right to vote in the presidential elections, this type of perceptions will fade away.

welcome 2 belgium. very nice 2 have u here. sorry ’bout our coppers. most of these stories R really ’bout them not having anything 2 do. so happy 2 hear they didn’t turn u into a jailbird. hope u’ve met some nice belgians in the mean time … trust me they exist 2

haha, that reminds of when I saw some football hooligans walking the streets of Berlin, shouting, drinking, throwing and kicking bottles around them, and this one man walks against red light, and another goes “what are you doing? kids are watching!”.

i’m sorry to hear that. alot of the european countries are really big on jaywalking.

here in germany – if one jaywalks and an accident happened between the jaywalker and a motorist(s) – the jaywalker will have to pay for ALL the damages and fees. if one gets caught jaywalking, the polizei can give the jaywalker a ticket.

when I’m in antwerp I also cross streets when the lights are red, unless there are policemen watching me. And i’m hardly ever the only one doing that. So the rule should is: “Don’t cross streets when the lights are red and there’s police watching”

There’s even a joke about it in belgium: “how do you know whether someone is staying illegally in belgium? He waits untill the light turns green to cross the street.” (because they would be scared to get arrested and be locked up untill they have to leave the country unless they get permission to stay)

So next time you’re in my doesn’t-make-any-sense-country check whether there are any police before crossing the streets while the lights are red and don’t forget to pay me a visit

this reminds me when my girlfriends and i went to vegas for a bachelorette party…in vegas anything goes, except squeezing an extra girl in the back of a cab…now THAT is off limits!!! haha the things that make some cities tick…

LOL, I am from Belgium, been to antwerp often and I can tell you that is not common. When there is no uncoming traffic I also cross the street and so do most Belgians. he was either having a bad day or its the principle of the matter. if its the last then really it doesn't matter if you were from New York or not he would have blown up at anybody

Funny that this happened to you, but in that part of Europe not exceptional, it's a completely normal thing in both Belgium and the Netherlands. I myself once got fined for running a red light at 4:30 in the morning.But hey, we don't have guns. So I'd pick Antwerp over NYC any day of the week.